Tuesday, October 25, 2011

My attitude to apple tart is a bit 'rough n' ready.' I firmly believe that you should just go with your instincts on this. Here's a rough recipe for my favourite Autumnal twist on apple tart. I used nine apples that varied in size. If you make too much filling for your tart, the left over apple sauce is delicious in steaming porridge on a cold Autumn morning.

In Ireland and the UK we like to use a sharper variety of apple for baking with, commonly called 'cooking apples.' For this reason it's necessary to sweeten them - just make sure you taste your filling as you go along as some apples are more tart than others, and personal preference plays a big part in apple tart. :)

INGREDIENTS:

. 6 med-large cooking apples (approx)

. 50g sultanas (or raisins/dried cranberries)

. 1.5 tsps cinnamon

. 4tbsps honey (approx)

. 30g walnut pieces

. 20g sunflower seeds

. shortcrust pastry

1: Peel and chop your apples into a pan, discarding the cores and skins. Allow enough room for them to expand.

2: Add in the sultanas and cinnamon. Drizzle over enough honey to cover the tops of the peeled apples.

3: Add 2 tbsps cold water and turn on to a gentle heat for 15- 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the apples have broken down into the sauce.

4: Test for sweetness (be careful not to burn your mouth!) and add more honey if it needs it.

5: Tip the sauce into a pie plate lined with shortcrust pastry. Sprinkle over the walnuts and sunflower seeds before covering with more pastry. Brush with a beaten egg, pierce the lid.

6: Brush with a beaten egg, pierce the lid and bake for 20-30minutes at 180°C/350°F/fan assist 170°C until the pastry is golden brown and firm.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Yesterday, I showed you how to make pumpkin purée. Now I'm going to share with you a recipe for Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne I tried out for dinner yesterday. The original recipe comes from a magazine called 'Healthy Food Guide.' (My favourite magazine, so many gorgeous recipes!)

Alterations:

Though the original recipe asks for chunks of pumpkin to be lightly fried, I used my purée instead. I also used adult spinach instead of baby spinach, removing the stalks and wilting it before adding the pumpkin. The recipe also called for 350g of fresh lasagne but I used dried and I only needed five sheets! Very low in carbohydrates. :) (Also low in fat, salts and saturates as well as high in calcium and iron.) How many sheets of pasta you need will depend on the size and shape of your oven proof dish.

PUMPKIN AND SPINACH LASAGNE
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Cooking oil spray.

500g pumpkin purée

250g spinach, heavy stalks cut off

2 x 400g cans of tomatoes with herbs

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250g ricotta

250g low-fat cottage cheese

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

30g parmesan, grated

5-7 sheets of dried lasagna

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/ fan 18O°C/gas 6.

2. Spray a frying pan a few times with the cooking oil. Add the spinach, a third at a time and wilt over a low heat, stirring frequently.

3. Add the pumpkin, garlic and tins of tomatoes to the spinach and cook over a medium heat for five minutes.

4. Add the ricotta, cottage cheese, two thirds of the parmesan and dried herbs together and blend in a food processor or with a handheld blender until it makes a smooth paste.

5. Pour one third of the tomato into an ovenproof dish. Add a layer of lasagne, followed by more tomato sauce and a layer of the cheesy sauce.* Repeat these layers until the ingredients are used up and finish with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

*(The cheese sauce can be tough to spread, I found. Try using a spatula.)

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Yes! Finally, the pumpkins are here! Aren't they beautiful? I've literally spent the entire day making various dishes with these lovelies. It sometimes bothers me that Irish people don't really use pumpkins for anything other than jack-o-lanterns. I have noticed a record number of said seasonal decorations all over Cork city, though, and they are gorgeous!

I've never been one to sit around lamenting and not doing anything so here is my pumpkin pie experience! I've put together a 'How To' style tutorial to show you what to do with your pumpkin when it's all big and orange and staring at you questioningly. The first step to any pumpkin recipe is to first purée the pumpkin. Once it's puréed, you can freeze it or use it for various recipes.

1. Slice your pumpkin in half, and then into slices. Scoop out the innard-goop and put it into a bowl. You can rinse them later and bake the seeds if you want to use every part of the pumpkin. The stringy bits are great for compost!

2. Place the pieces (skin intact!) into a steamer and steam for approximately 20 minutes until soft. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool before peeling. Do NOT try to peel the slices while they're hot! You WILL burn yourself.

3. Allow the skinless pumpkin chunks to drain in a colander for 10 minutes to get rid of excess juice. Sometimes this isn't necessary, if you feel your pumpkin isn't very watery, you can skip this step!

4. Whizz up the pumpkin with a hand blender, or mash with a potato masher until it's a thick purée. Now you have your base ingredient, ready to use! If you have some left over, you can freeze it in a lunchbox or in small amount in freezer bags.

PUMPKIN PIE!

1 cup sugar

1.5 tsps cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground allspice

0.5 tsp ground ginger

0.5 tsp salt (optional)

4 large, free range eggs

3 cups pumpkin purée

18 floz evaporated milk

1. Mix all ingredients together with a hand mixer. It will be a very wet mixture.

2. Line a pie dish with short crust pastry. I find that this recipe makes enough for at least one extra pie, so have some extra pastry to hand, just in case!

3. Pour in the pie-filling, not filling the dish more than 3/4 full, as the mixture will rise! Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for the first 15 minutes.

4. Turn down the heat to 165 degrees Celsius and bake for a further 45 - 60 minutes, until a knife comes out clean from the centre.

When it is done, take it out and EAT IT UP, YUM YUM! :)

I hope you try this recipe! I originally found it online somewhere about two years ago and I've stuck with it. It's really delicious! I have a lovely recipe for pumpkin and spinach lasagne which I'll post soon. Let me know what you think! x

Friday, October 21, 2011

These last few weeks have been insane for me. Between work and traveling, I've barely had time to sit down. Between last Thursday and Tuesday I went from Cork -> London -> Gothenburg -> London -> Cork -> Dublin -> Cork with work from Tuesday evening to Thursday evening. So today (Friday) has been the first day that I've been able to go out and get some food shopping.

I BOUGHT PUMPKINS!!

Three of them. Beautiful little ones! I'm excited about making them into pies, soups, pasties and curry! It's been more than a year since my last Pumpkin Post. This time I promise to post recipes.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I'm in bed. It's WAY past my sleep-time but I'm just being stubborn. I feel like a useless lump because I'm ill so I haven't gone for a walk in.... weeks.

But I wanted to make a few notes:

I am going to Sweden on Thursday and I have not thought about it AT ALL.

I wrote and posted three letters today.

I made 15 pairs of key earrings and three Wizard Rock tote bags.

I have eaten one proper meal in the last three days. If I have not at least lost 2lbs, I will be most put out. It's the least this illness can do for me, really.

I don't want to teach drama tomorrow.

I hate spending money on clothes, but I really needed to.

And, in the last half an hour, I've actually felt hungry.

It occurred to me about an hour ago that I put pressure on myself to do things that I really shouldn't. I should worry that I miss a day of reading a book, or that I didn't get my room tidied today. Maybe I should make a list of the things that, if neglected, actually merit guilt. (Singing practice, piano practice, walking the dog...)